After long (and occasionally alcohol-fueled) discussions with **Gundy, Porcupine, Hamlet ** and others, we’ve tentatively agreed upon Black Rock as the central site of this year’s Chidope. For those of you who aren’t playing at home (and why haven’t you been?), we’re talking about Saturday, 5/10/03. This post deals with Saturday night only, and not Friday pizza, tattoo/sex toy/piercing side trips, the Museum of Science and Industry, or the contemporaneous visit of the evil St. Louis National League Baseball Club. Also, we defer to the beautiful and accomplished Jane D’Oh with respect to lodging alternatives.
Further, to save the [suckup] hard-working moderators [/suckup] from unneccesary effort, we refer Gentle Reader to the Straight Dope’s disclaimer about member get-togethers, a disclaimer which **Gundy, Porcupine, Hamlet ** and I (even those of us who aren’t lawyers) heartily endorse, join in, and repeat. Short version - None of us are the hosts of this event, and anything we are doing is merely to gratuitously faciilitate this occasion on behalf of Dopers generally. We’re not going to check IDs, blood-alcohol levels or the criminal histories of those attending. What you do at and after this event is between you, your diety (if any) , the bar, your parole officer, and those members of Chicago’s Finest who aren’t otherwise occupied trying to keep Lake Shore Drive open. We encourage all those present to drink responsibly, and to follow all laws of the State of Illinois, except those which deal with biblically-condemned sexual practices. We’re doing this, not to create disorder, but to preserve disorder (or something like that, anyway.)
Now that all of that’s dealt with, here’s what we’ve discussed. Black Rock has offered to provide its party room, with an open bar(including top-shelf brands and excluding only shots) for three hours for $25 per person. Given the history of past SDMB events, the bar search committee views this as a ludicrously-amazing deal. I’ve paid more than this to buy a round at 6-person pre-Dopefest events. (I’ve already alerted bankruptcy counsel to contact bar management immediately following the evening.) The bar does require a 40-person minimum for the deal, as well as a deposit. If there’s a reasonable response to this e-mail, the committee will deal with this detail on behalf of the multitudes.
Assuming that the night and rate are still available, we’d like some feedback before reserving the room on behalf of the membership. First, we need a roll call of those attending and willing to pay the per-person price. (Sorry, but the bar can’t make exceptions for those who are light/nondrinkers. It’s all or nothing. If that presents a real problem for someone, I’m sure that the historically-generous Doper community will step in.)
If we get at least 45 responses, we’ll book the room. We do still need to work out some details with the bar. The price may go up a buck or two after we resolve these issues. (Most of these have to do with the mechanics of assessing the charge. None of us want to be collecting money, counting attendees, turning away crashers, or arguing with people who think they’re entitled to a discount.) If the bar won’t do this, we intend to pass on the deal. We’re only considering this package alternative because it seems to make economic sense. If it becomes logistically or legally difficult, we’ll have to recommend a different and more expensive proposal.
Second, if the bar will agree, we’d like to have some basic food (probably pizza) available at some point. Would you be interested in this alternative, assuming an extra cost of $5-$10? (Again, your deal would be with the bar, not the SDMB or the search committee.)
Third, the offer is for 3 hours. We’re considering 8-11 or 9-12. Comments?
Black Rock is located on Damen, just north of Addison. That’s about 2-3 blocks from a Brown Line stop, and a short cab/bus ride from the Addison stops on the Red and Blue lines. (The trip from these stops is walkable, but a fair hike.) It’s a non-dive bar, with a decent selection of beer and cider on tap. Other members of the search commitee have commented favorably on the couches, fireplaces and woodwork. No opinion at this point on its Martinis or other mixed drinks. Although it’ll be a huge imposition, some of us are considering another investigatory visit later this week to look into this and other issues. Anyone interested in joining us should let us know.
